Zoom Reaches $85M Settlement Over User Privacy Suit

Zoom Video Communications Inc. agreed to pay $85 million and bolster its security practices to settle a lawsuit claiming it violated users' privacy rights by sharing personal data with Facebook, Google and LinkedIn, and letting hackers disrupt Zoom meetings in a practice called Zoombombing, Jonathan Stempel reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Zoom has denied data privacy breach allegations despite having settled

A preliminary settlement filed on Saturday afternoon requires approval by US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California.

Subscribers in the proposed class action would be eligible for 15% refunds on their core subscriptions or $25, whichever is larger, while others could receive up to $15.

Zoom agreed to security measures including alerting users when meeting hosts or other participants use third-party apps in meetings, and, to provide specialized training to employees on privacy and data handling.

The San Jose-based company denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. It did not immediately respond on Sunday to a request for comment. Saturday's settlement came after Koh on March 11 let the plaintiffs pursue some contract-based claims.

Though Zoom collected about $1.3 billion in Zoom Meetings subscriptions from class members, the plaintiffs' lawyers called the $85 million settlement reasonable given the litigation risks. They intend to seek up to $21.25 million for legal fees

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